Long march gets off the ground
June 10, 2008
KARACHI/QUETTA: Long march caravans of lawyers, political workers, civil society members and different organisations left Karachi and Quetta for Sukkur, the first goalpost for the event.
The march that began on Monday will gradually swell in size and strength and after passing through different cities, including Multan and Lahore, will culminate in a mammoth rally in Rawalpindi and long sit-in at Islamabad on Thursday or Friday to press for the restoration of the deposed judges of the superior courts to the pre-Nov 3, 2007 position, and independence of the judiciary as enshrined in the 1973 Constitution.
A lawyers’ caravan set out from the mausoleum of the father of the nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah on Monday morning. Besides the legal community, the participants included activists of Jamaat-e-Islami, PML-N, Tehrik-e-Insaf, Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party and members of the civil society, who hoisted colourful flags of their parties and organisations.
Muhammad Ejaz Khan adds: The lawyers’ caravan, joined by workers of different political parties and activists of civil society organisations, left Quetta by road for Sukkur. Senior lawyers of the Supreme Court from Balochistan, Ali Ahmed Kurd, President Balochistan Bar Association Baz Muhammad Kakar and President Balochistan High Court Bar Association Hadi Shakeel and other senior leaders led the cavalcade.
Senior politicians including President National Party Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch, leader of Pushtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and former MPA Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal, provincial Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Maulana Abdul Haq Hashmi, General Secretary Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Ayaz Sawati advocate, representatives of different trade unions and civil society organizations saw the lawyers off at the district courts.
Participants of the rally on the occasion chanted full-throated slogans in favour of restoration of the independent judiciary and reinstatement of the deposed judges including the chief justice.
The lawyers’ caravan would pass through Mach, Bolan, Dhadhar, Sibi, Dera Allah Yar, Dera Murad Jamali before reaching Sukkur the same night to join their colleagues from other cities including Karachi there on way to Islamabad.
The caravans from Sindh and Balochistan would set out for Multan from Sukkur at 10am today (Tuesday) where they would be received by deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and senior leaders of the legal fraternity.
The rally, to be led by Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and Supreme Court Bar Association President Aitzaz Ahsan thereon would leave Multan for Lahore at 9am on June 11. The deposed chief justice would address them when they reach Lahore and the march would leave for Islamabad at 9am on June 12.
Processions from various cities and towns would join the marchers along the route. Long march convoys from Muzaffarabad, Abbotabad and Peshawar would leave for the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Thursday to join the main processions from Lahore at Rawalpindi before marching on the Parliament House in Islamabad.
In Multan, President LHC Bar Association Multan Bench, Mahmood Ashraf Khan, while talking to APP said lawyers’ delegations joined by political activists and members of the civil society from Sindh, Balochistan and south Punjab will arrive in Multan Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
He said arrangements have been made to provide food and accommodation to those reaching Multan from other cities.
Mahmood Ashraf Khan said a car-cum-motorbike rally was taken out by the lawyers community on Monday that took round of the city and terminated at the starting point of LHC Multan bar office.
General secretary of the LHC Multan bar, Rana Naveed Ahmed said that the city has been decorated with banners, flags and hoardings. Meanwhile, deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will arrive here at 5:00pm today (Tuesday) to lead the long march of legal fraternity for the restoration of judiciary.
President Supreme Court Bar Association Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan along with other lawyers would accompany the deposed chief justice. Thousands of lawyers, traders, students, activists of political and religious parties would accord warm welcome to Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry at the Multan airport.
Later, he would be brought to Circuit House in a huge public gathering. Our Lahore correspondent adds: Supreme Court Bar Association President Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan said on Monday a long march had been launched with the departure of lawyers’ caravans, led by deposed judges, from Karachi to Sukkur and it would culminate with the restoration of the judiciary to its pre-November 3 position.
He said the Punjab government would neither support the march nor lawyers had requested for any help. “It will be purely a non-governmental long march for the restoration of judges and lawyers will make an all-out effort to achieve their goal,” he added.
He appreciated security arrangements and a decision of the PML-N government to provide protocol to Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. He alleged that obstacles were being created for the caravans at the behest of the Sindh High Court chief justice as they left for Sukkur.
He said long march implementation and coordination committees had been formed to take decisions. “The strategy to be adopted after June 12 will be decided by the committee,” he added.
The march that began on Monday will gradually swell in size and strength and after passing through different cities, including Multan and Lahore, will culminate in a mammoth rally in Rawalpindi and long sit-in at Islamabad on Thursday or Friday to press for the restoration of the deposed judges of the superior courts to the pre-Nov 3, 2007 position, and independence of the judiciary as enshrined in the 1973 Constitution.
A lawyers’ caravan set out from the mausoleum of the father of the nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah on Monday morning. Besides the legal community, the participants included activists of Jamaat-e-Islami, PML-N, Tehrik-e-Insaf, Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party and members of the civil society, who hoisted colourful flags of their parties and organisations.
Muhammad Ejaz Khan adds: The lawyers’ caravan, joined by workers of different political parties and activists of civil society organisations, left Quetta by road for Sukkur. Senior lawyers of the Supreme Court from Balochistan, Ali Ahmed Kurd, President Balochistan Bar Association Baz Muhammad Kakar and President Balochistan High Court Bar Association Hadi Shakeel and other senior leaders led the cavalcade.
Senior politicians including President National Party Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch, leader of Pushtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and former MPA Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal, provincial Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Maulana Abdul Haq Hashmi, General Secretary Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Ayaz Sawati advocate, representatives of different trade unions and civil society organizations saw the lawyers off at the district courts.
Participants of the rally on the occasion chanted full-throated slogans in favour of restoration of the independent judiciary and reinstatement of the deposed judges including the chief justice.
The lawyers’ caravan would pass through Mach, Bolan, Dhadhar, Sibi, Dera Allah Yar, Dera Murad Jamali before reaching Sukkur the same night to join their colleagues from other cities including Karachi there on way to Islamabad.
The caravans from Sindh and Balochistan would set out for Multan from Sukkur at 10am today (Tuesday) where they would be received by deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and senior leaders of the legal fraternity.
The rally, to be led by Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and Supreme Court Bar Association President Aitzaz Ahsan thereon would leave Multan for Lahore at 9am on June 11. The deposed chief justice would address them when they reach Lahore and the march would leave for Islamabad at 9am on June 12.
Processions from various cities and towns would join the marchers along the route. Long march convoys from Muzaffarabad, Abbotabad and Peshawar would leave for the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Thursday to join the main processions from Lahore at Rawalpindi before marching on the Parliament House in Islamabad.
In Multan, President LHC Bar Association Multan Bench, Mahmood Ashraf Khan, while talking to APP said lawyers’ delegations joined by political activists and members of the civil society from Sindh, Balochistan and south Punjab will arrive in Multan Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
He said arrangements have been made to provide food and accommodation to those reaching Multan from other cities.
Mahmood Ashraf Khan said a car-cum-motorbike rally was taken out by the lawyers community on Monday that took round of the city and terminated at the starting point of LHC Multan bar office.
General secretary of the LHC Multan bar, Rana Naveed Ahmed said that the city has been decorated with banners, flags and hoardings. Meanwhile, deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will arrive here at 5:00pm today (Tuesday) to lead the long march of legal fraternity for the restoration of judiciary.
President Supreme Court Bar Association Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan along with other lawyers would accompany the deposed chief justice. Thousands of lawyers, traders, students, activists of political and religious parties would accord warm welcome to Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry at the Multan airport.
Later, he would be brought to Circuit House in a huge public gathering. Our Lahore correspondent adds: Supreme Court Bar Association President Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan said on Monday a long march had been launched with the departure of lawyers’ caravans, led by deposed judges, from Karachi to Sukkur and it would culminate with the restoration of the judiciary to its pre-November 3 position.
He said the Punjab government would neither support the march nor lawyers had requested for any help. “It will be purely a non-governmental long march for the restoration of judges and lawyers will make an all-out effort to achieve their goal,” he added.
He appreciated security arrangements and a decision of the PML-N government to provide protocol to Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. He alleged that obstacles were being created for the caravans at the behest of the Sindh High Court chief justice as they left for Sukkur.
He said long march implementation and coordination committees had been formed to take decisions. “The strategy to be adopted after June 12 will be decided by the committee,” he added.
